As elected officials, we must often address persistent challenges or troubleshoot new urgent issues that arise. That work is important, but the most critical work we do is planning for the future. Conversations, community comments, focus group feedback, and survey input collected over the past 21 months have overwhelmingly pointed to a preference for long-term solutions over short-term band-aids when it comes to education in Steamboat.
Based on these conversations and community comments, the Board unanimously voted to put measures on the November ballot for consideration by the voters. Our schools are full today and we are betting on Steamboat’s future—betting that our community will continue to thrive and attract families whose children will enroll in our schools. We believe that overcrowded schools, large class sizes, addition of exterior classroom trailers, and make-shift learning spaces in hallways are unacceptable.
The bond and mill levy measures represent the long-term solutions to these issues. If approved, a less than $20 monthly investment for $500,000 in residential property value would fund investments in all current schools that, together with a new PK-8 school at Steamboat II, would address overcrowding in our elementary and middle schools. It would also fund a new 9,000 square foot addition at the high school at its current location. We would also be able to increase compensation by an average of 6% to reflect the role that teachers and staff play in the success of our students and schools.
We are concluding a nearly two-year public process that included master planning, extensive community engagement (nine meetings), and thousands of hours of committee work by community volunteers and staff members. Our process to this point is well documented. In the spring of 2018, we launched
buildingforthefuture.ssk12.org, where we posted reports and data, announced meetings, and made presentations publicly available.
We read the emails we received, listened to public comments at our meetings and district forums, and carefully reviewed reports from our survey consultants, architects, and demographer. We also held planning conversations with local partners and agencies. Changes were made along the way to address issues and concerns that were raised.
We believe that you elected us to act. Today, we are proud to do so on behalf of those we represent, Steamboat’s teachers and staff and most importantly, our students—those Steamboat Springs School District serves now and will serve in the future.
